Brick manufacturer fined after worker injured

Stroud Magistrates’ Court heard that a 45-year-old worker sustained serious injuries to his right leg, with the partial loss of two toes, after either stepping onto or falling onto a recently-installed machine that breaks up clay. A risk assessment had identified that the machinery required guarding or barriers, but these were not yet put in place.

Northcot Brick Limited was fined £18,500, plus costs of £7,500, after pleading guilty to a breach of Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Ann Linden said: "This incident would not have happened if simple precautions such as putting up a barrier or guard had been in place. Safeguards cannot be relaxed because a machine is being commissioned or tested.”